Railway-tie and fastener.



F. PONGRATZ. RAILWAY TIE AND FASTENER.

APPLIGATION FILED I'EB. 6,1913.

1, 78,642. Patented Nov. 18, 1913.

21 Z /ZQ, 2

WITNESSES FRANK PONGRATZ, OF WARRENS, WISCONSIN.

RAILWAY-TIE AND FASTENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nev. 18, 1913.

Application filed February 6, 1913. Serial No. 746,542.

To all whom it may, concern.

Be it known that I, FRANK PONGRATZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at l/Varrens, in the county of Monroe and State of Visconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Ties and Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in railway ties and rail fastening means, and has for its objects, the provision of a novelly constructed tie embodying in its organization means for removably locking the rails and rail supporting blocks thereto.

Another and more specific object of the invention, resides in the provision of a structure of this nature comprising a channel bar open at each end, rail supporting blocks positioned therein and extending above the sides thereof, flanged retaining members secured transversely of the tie and adapted to project over the supporting blocks and rail flanges and removable flanged end plates which limit the outward movement of the blocks and also engage the flanges of the rails.

WVith these and other objects in view, as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a rail tie and fastener constructed in accordance with my invention, showing the same supporting a pair of rails, Fig. 2 is a top plan View, showing one end of my improved tie, Fig. 3 is an end elevation thereof, showing the same in engagement with a rail, Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the plane of line 44 of Fig. 3, and, Fig. 5 is a view taken on the plane of line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

In the following description and accompanying drawings, similar parts will be re ferred to and designated by like characters of reference.

Referring in detail to the drawings by numerals, 10 designates, generally, a channel bar having the bottom wall 11 and the side walls 12. The channel bar is open at each end and has positioned within it the rail supporting blocks 13. These blocks extend above the edges of the side walls 12 and are equal in length to the width of the bases of the rails 14.

Retaining members 15 extend transversely across the interior of the channel bar 10 and are welded or otherwise secured within vertical grooves formed in the side walls thereof, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. These members engage the inner ends of the rail supporting blocks and are formed with lateral outwardly extending flanges 16 which project over the inner base flange 17 of the rails and assist in holding said rails firmly upon the blocks.

End plates 18 extend transversely across the ends of the channel bar and close the same, thereby effectually preventing a longitudinal movement of the rail supporting blocks in one direct-ion. These end plates are extended beyond the side Walls 12 and are apertured to receive bolts 19 which pass through apertured ears 20 formed upon said walls adjacent the extremities thereof. Nuts 21 are threaded upon the ends of the bolt to removably lock the plates securely in position. The end plates are formed with laterally projecting flanges 22 which extend inwardly from the upper edges and which are adapted to engage the base flanges 23 of the rails.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that I have provided a rail tie in which the rail supporting blocks are re t ained in proper position by the same members which are used to retain the rails upon said blocks, or in other words that the retaining members perform a double function. I consider the primary feature of my device to reside in the fact that the retaining members 15 and 18 serve to hold the blocks 13 firmly in position and also to lock the rails 14; upon said blocks. The rails may be easily detached from my tie by removing the end plates 18 and the same operation makes it possible to remove the old supporting blocks and substitute new ones.

It is to be understood that while I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I do not wish to be limited to this exact construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, but may make such changes as will fall within the spirit and scope of the invention, such as for instance, lncreasing the length of the supporting blocks in orderthat spikes may be used for securing the rails thereto.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is The combination with a pair of railway rails of a rail tie and fastener comprisinga channel bar open at eachend, a pair of rail supporting blocks positioned within said channel bar and extending above the side walls thereof, retaining plates extending transversely across the interior of the channel bar and fitted within vertical slots formed in the side walls thereof, laterally projecting flanges formed upon said retain- 7 ing plates and adapted to engage the inner engagement with theblocks, apertured ears projecting laterally from adjacent the ends of said channel bar, end plates apertured adjacent their extremities, means passing through said apertures for securing'the end plates in position, and inwardly projecting flanges formed upon said last mentioned plates for engagement with the outer base flanges of the rails.

In testimonywhereof I'afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK PONGRATZ. V

Witnesses W. A. GILLETT, HJGARLER;

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing'the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G. 

